ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL

Year: 2016Country:USARun Time:
88 minutes

When Thomas Sung moved to the U.S. from Shanghai, he had one motivation: to help people. As the small business owners of Abacus Federal Savings Bank, he and his daughters are able to serve the Chinese population in New York City’s Chinatown, many of whom have never used a banking system. When they discover an employee is stealing money, a whirlwind of investigations is set into motion that quickly escalates. The bank is indicted on humiliating accusations of mortgage fraud, making them the only U.S. bank dealt criminal charges in the 2008 financial crisis. At a time when the largest banking corporations in the nation are receiving massive bailouts for their damaging wrongdoings, six-branch, family-owned Abacus is fighting tooth and nail to defend their business reputation and Chinese community. ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL follows the grueling five-year court battle of the Sung family. The film raises serious questions about our court systems’ reasoning to doggedly pursue certain cases and completely neglect others. (In English, Mandarin, and Cantonese with subtitles) —A.B.

Born in Hampton, Virginia in 1954, Steve James is recognized as one of the most acclaimed documentary filmmakers of his generation. He regularly collaborates with the Chicago-based nonprofit production studio Kartemquin Films. His film "Hoop Dreams" was nominated for an Academy AwardŽ for Best Film Editing and recently selected for the Library of Congress National Film Registry.